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At least 1,055 people have died in Gaza, with some 5,184 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. New York City's Empire State Building, illuminated in the colors of the flag of Israel on October 7. “This was the largest number of Jewish victims in an attack in one day since the Holocaust,” he said. “Not during the Yom Kippur War, not in the war of independence did we see civilians killed like this. Fighting regularly takes place between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Persons: CNN —, Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Gary Hershorn, Kathy Hochul, Adam Gray, Emmanuel Macron, Gérald Darmanin, Laurent Nuñez, Marie, Sarah Seeberger, Israel, Benoit Tessier, ”, Olaf Scholz, “, Suella Braverman, ” Braverman, Wiktor, ” Mark Gardner, Gardner, Peter Nicholls, Rishi Sunak, Robert Jenrick, Dean Lewins, Pinchas Goldschmidt, Goldschmidt, ” Goldschmidt, Carl Court, Gazans, Nadim, CNN “, Zaghloul, OCHA, Médecins, Avril Benoît Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Corbis, Getty, Solidarity, Opera, White, Washington DC, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, police, Marseille, Jewish, of France, Reuters, Authorities, London’s Metropolitan Police, “, Community Security Trust, Police, Publishing, Security, Hamas, ISIS, ”, Downing, Jewish Leadership Council, Saturday, Sydney Opera House, Israel, West Bank, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Conference, Embassy, Islamic, ’, United Nations Office, of Humanitarian Affairs, MSF Locations: Israel, Gaza, . New York, Paris, Washington, United States, New York, New York City, France, French, Lyon, Paris Monday, United Kingdom, Germany, Berlin, London, London’s, Britain, Israel's, Palestine, Moscow, Ukraine, Jerusalem, Europe, Egypt

☆ The deteriorating situation in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Map of Gaza Strip access restrictions since 2005. The international airport in the south of the Gaza Strip was destroyed in 2002. The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Note: Gaza Strip population in 2023: 2,226,544 inhabitants. Source: Gaza Electricity Distribution Company via UN OCHAFurther energy cuts mean residents cannot recharge phones, so are cut off from news of each other and events.

Persons: Israel, Khan, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Mohammad Brais Organizations: United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, West Bank, Israel, CIA, Gaza Electricity, Company, UN, NetBlocks, Israeli Air Force Locations: Israel, Gaza, Egypt, London, England, Deir, Khan Yunis, Rafah

☆ Heavy Israeli Shelling in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Anas Baba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GAZA CITY—Israeli forces launched intense shelling and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday, striking both military and civilian infrastructure in attacks that have caused more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. Palestinian residents of the strip are expressing a sense of dread after strikes hit at least one mosque, government buildings and a school, according to local authorities and the United Nations. More than two million Palestinians are trapped inside the enclave with no way of leaving due to Israeli and Egyptian restrictions on its borders. Israel has said it is striking Hamas targets in Gaza and didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday about an attack on a school. As of Sunday evening more than 123,538 Palestinians have fled their homes within Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Organizations: GAZA CITY, United Nations, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs Locations: GAZA, Gaza, Israel

☆ Authorities try to contain anger in aftermath of Libya floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A week after a flood wiped out much of the centre of the city, furious Derna residents demonstrated on the streets and torched the home of the mayor overnight. They accuse the authorities of failing to maintain the dams that protected the city, and failing to evacuate residents before the storm. "Haftar's forces are under pressure to show they have control of the situation, and that they can handle the fallout. A spokesperson for the state-owned Libyan Telecommunications Holding Company, Mohamed Albdairi, told Libya Alahrar television that the communications had gone down in the area because some fiber optic cables had been severed. [1/6]Volunteers carry victims of a powerful storm and heavy rainfall that hit Libya to bury them at a cemetery in Derna, Libya September 19, 2023.

Persons: Derna, Khalifa Haftar, Tim Eaton, Mohamed Albdairi, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Zohra, Antonio Guterres, Abdulmenam, Muammar Gaddafi, Mansour, Peter Graff, Tom Perry, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Communications, The United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Libyan Telecommunications Holding Company, Engineers, Reuters, Volunteers, REUTERS, World Health Organization, General Assembly, Libyan National Army, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Derna, Benghazi, Libya's, Libya, York, U.N, Islamic State, al Qaeda

In Saturday’s initial report, OCHA said at least 11,300 people are dead in Derna, Libya, due to devastating flooding. The Libyan Red Crescent Society told CNN earlier on Sunday that it never released the high death figure tolls to the UN from flooding in Derna. People walk through rubble and debris left by flooding in Derna, Libya, on Sunday, September 17. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters An aerial view of the devastation after flooding caused by Storm Daniel on September 15. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters People carry some of their belongings as they walk along a muddy street on September 14.

Persons: OCHA, “ We’re, ” Farhan Haq, Haq, ” Haq, Esam Omran, Zohra Bensemra, Amr Alfiky, Ayman Al, Yousef Murad, Storm Daniel, Muhammad J, Abdullah Doma, Ahmed Elumami, Jamal Alkomaty, Abdullah Mohammed Bonja, Omar Jarhman, Ali Al, Saadi, Derna Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, World Health Organization, WHO, Crescent, Sunday, Libyan Red Crescent Society, Reuters, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Volunteers, Elalwany, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Reuters Workers, Planet Labs PBC, AP, AFP Locations: Libya, Derna, Libyan, AFP, Shahhat, Storm

CNN —The death toll from devastating flooding in Libya’s eastern coastal city of Derna has risen to at least 11,300, according to a UN report released Saturday, as search efforts continue. The city of Derna was split into two after floodwaters swept through entire neighborhoods. Derna, the epicenter of the disaster, was split into two after flood waters swept entire neighborhoods. At least 30,000 people have been displaced in Derna alone, the UN said. Almost 300,000 children who were exposed to the flooding due to Storm Daniel face increased risk of cholera, malnutrition, diarrhea, and dehydration.

Persons: Sarah Sirgany, Storm Daniel, ” OCHA Organizations: CNN, UN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Storm, Ordnance Locations: Derna, Libya

☆ How knockoffs took over America
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But these fake products have major financial and societal impacts that can lead to lost sales, jobs, and livelihoods. US Customs and Border Protection officers inspect boxes of counterfeit products at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport complex. Edward Berthelot/GettyWhy sales of counterfeit goods have soaredE-commerce has been a breeding ground for knockoffs. AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to the US Sentencing Commission , the maximum sentence for selling counterfeit goods is 10 years in prison. In 2020, Amazon established its Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which works with brands to identify and remove counterfeit products.

Persons: Daniel Shapiro's, Hugo Boss, counterfeiters, Spencer Platt, Getty, Shapiro, Jason Armond, Gabrielle Chanel, Michael Kors, Gucci, Chanel, Zers, Edward Berthelot, Superfakes, They've, Wang Zhao, I'm, counterfeits, It's Organizations: Service, Red, Puma, Fila, eBay, US Department of Homeland Security, International Chamber of Commerce, Frontier Economics, Customs, Border Protection, Los, United States Intellectual, United Nations Office, Drugs, UN, Seaport, Economic Cooperation, Development, US Chamber of Commerce, US Customs, Protection, US, Commission, Nike, Amazon Locations: Wall, Silicon, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Long, Beijing, Europe, China

☆ Colombia Potential Cocaine Output Rose 24% in 2022 - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Also at a more than 20-year high was potential cocaine output, which rose 24% to 1,738 metric tonnes. Coca is the chief ingredient in cocaine, whose production has fueled the Andean country's six-decade armed conflict, which has killed at least 450,000 people. Petro's government wants to help rural communities voluntarily substitute some 100,000 hectares of coca crops over the next four years, an official told Reuters recently. The government wants to reduce cultivation areas to 150,000 hectares and production capacity to 900 metric tonnes by 2026, Osuna said. Some 13% of Colombia's annual deforestation is linked to illicit crops, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad told a drugs conference last week.

Persons: Candice Welsch, Welsch, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's, Nestor Osuna, Osuna, Susana Muhamad, oversupply, Luis Jaime Acosta, Oliver Griffin, Julia Symmes Cobb, Richard Chang Organizations: United Nations Office, Drugs, Reuters, UN, Food Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Putumayo province, Ecuador

☆ Ecuador election: political violence and insecurity loom large as Ecuadorians get ready to vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Rafael Romo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It has also brought international attention to the powerful criminal organizations driving the violence that has plagued Ecuador. “By the very fact that we’re not controlling our borders, we’re getting an influx of money that is literally corrupting the country,” Topic added. Topic told CNN that while he admires Bukele, he would be more careful when it comes to respecting human rights. Andrea González Náder – who was Villavicencio’s running mate – told CNN that the fight against criminal gangs and corruption was Villavicencio’s main objective when he was alive. Those aims have not changed, she told CNN from a secret location in Ecuador, which police asked CNN not to reveal for her protection.

Persons: Ecuador CNN — Gissella Cecibel Molina doesn’t, Fernando Villavicencio, Fernando, ” Molina, ‘ Fernando Villavicencio, ’, ”, Molina, “, Villavicencio, Juan Zapata, Fernando Villavicencio's assasination, Karen Toro, Pedro Briones, Agustin Intriago, Walker Vera, Pity Guzman, Rodrigo Buendia, Bukele, doesn’t, Andrea González Náder –, –, Martin Bernetti, Luisa González, Rafael Correa, “ I’ve, Gustavo Petro Organizations: Ecuador CNN, National Assembly, CNN, “, Reuters, Manta, Ecuadorian National Police, United Nations Office, Drug, Getty, French Foreign Legion, Electoral Council, Citizen Revolution Movement, European, Colombian, Zetas Locations: Quito, Ecuador, Ecuador’s, “, Esmeraldas province, Muisne, South America, United States, Europe, Colombia, Mexico, Balkans, AFP, Ecuadorian, European Union

☆ Cocaine cartels encroach on Unification Church’s Paraguayan paradise
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Puerto Casado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Many of the runways are on land owned by the Unification Church of South Korea, founded by Rev. The Unification Church is a major power in this unruly region. Byun, the Unification Church lawyer, provided Reuters with an April 2022 document the church sent to Paraguayan anti-narcotics prosecutors, urging an investigation into potential illicit activity. Trouble in paradiseThe alleged drug-running on its land isn’t the only trouble the Unification Church has faced in the Chaco. Byun, the church lawyer, acknowledged the tensions with locals in Puerto Casado but declined to comment on the Myungs or the fire.

Persons: Sun Myung, Michelle Byun, ” Byun, “, Moon, God, ”, Miguel Ángel Servín, Servín, Rodrigo Alvarez, Elva Cáceres, Marco Alcaraz, Cynthia Tarrago, Tarrago, Raimundo Va, Rodrigo Alvarenga Paredes, Byun, Alvarenga, “ Alvarenga, Rodrigo Álvarez, Álvarez, Pedro Juan Caballero, ‘ Lawless, –, Marcelo Pecci, José Carlos Acevedo, ” Acevedo, Pecci, Acevedo, Mario Abdo Benítez, James Laverty, Hak Ja, ” –, Carlos Casado, Anger, Locals, Lorenzo Myung, Martin Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Dora Irrazábal, Irrazábal, Alberto David Gauto, Gauto, Emilio Camacho, Moon’s, Hyun Jin, Preston, Hak, Hyung Jin, Sean, Massimo Introvigne, Sean Moon, Preston Moon, Puerto Casado, Virgilio Chamorro, Gabriel Stargardter, Daniela Desantis, Feilding, Tomas Bravo, John Emerson, Brian Thevenot Organizations: Unification Church of, Rev, Authorities, Reuters, Unification Church, Holy Spirit Association, South Korea’s Unification, Belgian, Sting, South, International Association of Parliamentarians, Peace, U.S . Federal Bureau of Investigation, Colorado Party, Yorker, U.S, Attorney, FBI, Capital Command, PCC, United Nations Office, Drugs, U.S . Drug, Carlos Casado SA, Salesian, Supreme, FARC, Peace Foundation, Center for Studies, New, Iron Ministries, Preston, Tomas Bravo Graphics Locations: Paraguayan, Unification Church of South Korea, SENAD Paraguay, Chaco, Paraguay, Korea, Bolivian, Peruvian, Atlantic, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Europe, Argentine, Manhattan, “, Antwerp, Europe’s, Servín, Asunción, Seoul, New York City, United States, New Jersey, Tarrago, Va, U.S, Byun, Alvarenga, Chile, Ecuador, Colombian, Bolivia, American, South America, America, Puerto Casado, Gauto, Preston, Turin, Italy, Pennsylvania, Puerto

☆ Fast, cheap and deadly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

Fast, cheap and deadly How fentanyl replaced heroin and hooked AmericaLeer en EspañolReuters obtained and analyzed ten year’s worth of data on drugs seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at ports of entry along the southern border. It shows: Fentanyl seizures by weight more than tripled in the last quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier. Pills were mentioned in nearly half of fentanyl border seizure incidents in 2022, up from just 6% five years earlier. A fifth of fentanyl seizures take place on pedestrians, the Reuters analysis shows. Over the same period, heroin seizures fell more than 80% from over 2,000 kg, according to the Reuters analysis.

Persons: Bryce Pardo, Troy Miller, Joe Biden, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, ”, Chris Urben, Urben, Joaquin ‘ El Chapo ’ Guzman, “, CBP’s Miller, Jonathan Caulkins, James Mandryck, Oxycontin, Lopez Obrador, narcotrafficking, Lopez, Rosa Rodriguez, Cecilia Farfan, Mendez, Freed, Pardo, Romain Le Cour, Cour, Carlos Perez, Perez Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, United Nations Office, Drugs, DEA, CBP, U.S, Nardello, Carnegie Mellon University, U.S . Postal Service, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mexico's, North, Forensic Laboratory, University of California, Global, Transnational, U.S . Congress ’ Commission, New Generation, Center for Research Locations: Mexican, U.S, Mexico, Sinaloa, El Paso, Arizona’s Nogales, United States, offscreen, sierra, China, Beijing, Washington, University of California San Diego ., ”, New, New Generation Jalisco, Mexico City

The BPLA's growth owes much to Maung Saungkha's skills in building bridges with other armed groups, according to a key ally and two analysts. It says armed groups that oppose it are "terrorists" who sow chaos and kill civilians. It has charged Maung Saungkha with sedition as it has done with most opponents of its rule. Some armed ethnic groups have long relied on drug trafficking for funds, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Some soldiers have run away, homesick, bored and tired after two years of war, said Maung Saungkha, who declined to disclose how many members are in his group.

Persons: Maung Saungkha, Bamar, Maung, Aunt Min, Richard Horsey, Nicola Williams, General Nyo Tun Aung, Tun Aung, We've, Shoon Naing, Poppy McPherson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Liberation Army, REUTERS, Poet, People's Defense Forces, National Unity Government, Strategy, AK, Karen National Union, Arakan Army, Myanmar Resistance, Myanmar Research, United Nations Office, Drugs, Reuters, UN, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, country's, Thailand, Myanmar's, Bamar, China, Russia

Djamani was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2018 after being convicted of possessing 31 grams of heroin. Djamani is the first woman to be hanged in Singapore since hairdresser Yen May Woen, 36, in 2004, who was also convicted of drug trafficking. Criminal lawyer Joshua Tong said those convicted of drug trafficking were usually men, but he had seen “his fair share” of women drug offenders. We demand an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty,” the group wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The case put Singapore’s zero-tolerance drug laws back under scrutiny, with rights advocates arguing the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking is an inhumane punishment.

Persons: Saridewi, Djamani, Yen, Woen, ”, Celia Ouellette, “, ” Adilur Rahman Khan, Chiara Sangiorgio, Joshua Tong, Tong, Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, Kirsten Han, “ TJC, Suppiah, Dharmalingam Organizations: CNN, Singapore, Central Narcotics Bureau, Business Initiative for Justice, International Federation for Human Rights, Ministry of Home Affairs, Twitter, United Nations Office, Drugs Locations: Changi, Singapore, “ Singapore, France, Asia, East, Southeast Asia

[1/4] Police gather drugs ahead of burning six tonnes of cocaine, hashish and other substances to mark the United Nations' International Day Against Drug Abuse, in Lisbon, Portugal, June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Miguel PereiraLISBON, June 26 (Reuters) - Portuguese police on Monday burned six tonnes of cocaine, hashish and other substances to mark the United Nations' international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking at a time the illegal trade is booming worldwide. Sousa said 11 tonnes of cocaine, 30 tonnes of hashish and smaller amount of other types of drugs have been seized in Portugal so far in 2023, already above the amounts seized last year as a whole. He said most of the cocaine was trafficked from Latin America and the Caribbean, while the hashish came from Morocco. Sousa said Portuguese authorities needed more resources to tackle the surge as the southern European nation, facing the Atlantic Ocean, was a key entry point of drugs into the European continent.

Persons: Miguel Pereira LISBON, Rui Sousa, Sousa, Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Police, Nations, REUTERS, United Nations Office, Drugs, Portuguese, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, America, Caribbean, Morocco, Europe, European

CNN —Residents of El Geneina, the capital of war-torn West Darfur, are struggling to bury their dead as violence rages across the city. Activists say 500 bodies across the city have been identified, and that they believe “thousands” more remain unburied on streets and inside homes. Fighting erupted in mid-April between Sudan’s Armed Forces and its Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Sudanese refugees gather as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams assist the war wounded from West Darfur, Sudan, in Adre hospital, Chad June 16, 2023. MSF did not name the party responsible for the killing, but Kamal Al Din blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the attacks on those fleeing.

Persons: El Geneina, Health Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Mohammad Ghannam, Kamal Al Din, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: CNN —, Darfur Bar Association, CNN, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Health, Sudan’s Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Radio Dabanga, MSF, Sudanese Armed Forces Locations: El, Darfur, Sudan, Saudi, West Darfur, Adre, Chad, Adré

☆ Asia's drug trade is thriving post-pandemic, UN report warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

There are other signs of the drug trade bouncing back. West African trafficking networks in East and Southeast Asia, which “all but disappeared” during the pandemic, have now resumed their activities, the report said. From Myanmar, meth and other synthetic drugs then travel out to the world, with shipments previously found as far away as Japan, New Zealand and Australia. It also pointed to the high number of drug-related arrests and admissions at drug treatment facilities as further evidence of robust trade. That figure is 167% higher than the previous year, according to the UNODC report.

Persons: ”, Jeremy Douglas, “, ” Douglas, Douglas, Inshik Sim Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United Nations Office, Drugs, “, UNODC Regional Representative, Southeast, Central America Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, East, Southeast Asia, Yunnan, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Central, Laos, From Myanmar, Japan , New Zealand, Australia, South Asia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Cambodia, France, Poland, Indonesia, South Korea

☆ Sudan: Nearly 1.4 million people displaced since civil war erupted, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sahar Akbarzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Even before the fighting intensified, years of political instability meant Sudan had several million people internally displaced. The country also hosted 1.13 million refugees from other conflict-ridden countries, including South Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, according to UNHCR data. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are flocking home from neighboring Sudan, which erupted in violence last month. Sam Mednick/APAmid the vast displacement, there have been increasing reports of gender-based violence and domestic violence, especially among internally displaced Sudanese populations, the UN Population Fund said. This includes 22 attacks on health facilities, six attacks which impacted warehouses, and nine attacks which affected supplies, among others.

☆ Cyclone Aid Stalled in Myanmar: ‘I Just Hope We Get Help Before We Die.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Richard C. Paddock | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four days after Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar, killing hundreds and devastating communities in its path, aid groups seeking to deliver humanitarian assistance remained stymied by the junta on Thursday as survivors faced growing threats of hunger and illness. Aid groups fear that the death toll, estimated by some at more than 450, will only rise as victims of the cyclone face food shortages, disease, a lack of clean water and the loss of their homes. Survivors also face the threat of unexploded land mines that may have moved during the flooding. An estimated 5.4 million people in Myanmar were affected by the storm. Without swift aid, humanitarian experts fear that the number of deaths could climb, as was the case after Cyclone Nargis, the catastrophic 2008 cyclone that struck Myanmar farther to the east and killed more than 135,000.

☆ Aid groups seek green light from Myanmar junta to access cyclone-hit state
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A view of the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha in Sittwe, Myanmar in this handout image released May 17, 2023. The U.N. Development Programme, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and U.N. refugee agency UNHCR also said their requests were pending approval. "It is important for humanitarian actors to ascertain damage, needs and provide immediate lifesaving assistance, not least as the monsoon season nears," UNHCR spokesperson Reuben Lim Wende said. State media on Wednesday said junta leader Min Aung Hlaing had visited affected areas in Bagan, another region, and separately met with a UNHCR representative to discuss relief efforts. About 5.4 million people were expected to have been in the storm's path, the majority of whom were considered vulnerable.

☆ Cyclone Mocha tears into Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cyclone Mocha barrels into Myanmar The powerful storm unleashes its fury, disrupting communications in the regionAround midday on Sunday, Cyclone Mocha pummelled western Myanmar and southern Bangladesh. Map shows the path of Cyclone Mocha. It originated in the Bay of Bengal three days before it hit the coast of Myanmar on May 14. Satellite images show Sittwe before and after landfall of Cyclone Mocha, in Myanmar. Myanmar’s coast bore the brunt of the storm surge from Mocha, according to data from the EU’s Joint Research Centre.

☆ Cyclone Mocha: Early reports of 'extensive damage' as storm hits the Myanmar coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Video from the conflict-racked Rakhine state showed powerful gusts of wind blowing trees to the ground. “But early reports suggest the damage is extensive and needs among already vulnerable communities, particularly displaced people, will be high. A resident drives his motorbike past fallen utility poles in Kyauktaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 15, 2023, after Cyclone Mocha crashed ashore. However, torrential rain battered Rakhine state in western Myanmar, bringing threats of flooding and landslides. According to the United Nations, roughly 15,000 homes were destroyed in Rakhine state during the storm.

☆ Russia was trying to kill a Patriot when the US-made weapon took out the Kinzhal missile Putin claimed was unstoppable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainians last week said they'd shot down a Russian hypersonic missile using a US Patriot system. Officials told CNN Friday the Patriot defense system was the target of the advanced missile attack. Putin had previously claimed the deadly Kinzhal missiles were unstoppable. But officials on Friday told CNN the defense system itself was the target of the attack — and the Patriot expertly defended itself. Representatives for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and the Government of the Russian Federation did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Singapore executes citizen for cannabis trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, April 26 (Reuters) - Singapore on Wednesday executed a man convicted of drug trafficking, a representative for his family said, despite pleas from his relatives and activists for clemency. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, had been convicted for abetting the trafficking in 2013 of more than 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, double the threshold for the death penalty in the city-state, which is known for its tough laws on narcotics. The Singapore government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United Nations Office for Human Rights had also called for Singapore not to proceed with the execution and to "adopt a formal moratorium on executions for drug-related offences". Singapore executed 11 people last year and says the death penalty is an effective deterrent against drugs and that most of its people support the policy.

CNN —The World Health Organization warned Tuesday of a “huge biological risk” after Sudanese fighters seized the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum, as foreign nations raced to mount rapid evacuation efforts from the country and violence punctured a fragile US-brokered ceasefire. Seized laboratory a potential ‘germ bomb’A high-ranking medical source told CNN that the lab, which contains samples of diseases and other biological material, had been taken over by RSF forces. Navy PhotoAs many as 500 people fleeing the fighting have begun boarding the French frigate “Lorraine” in Port-Sudan on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the French Chief of Defense Staff told CNN. “Shops are running out of food completely” and several food factories in the state had been looted, the witness, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told CNN. On Monday, the Sudanese military claimed that the RSF killed an Egyptian diplomat, while the RSF claimed the army targeted civilians in an airstrike on a Khartoum neighborhood.

☆ Major drug busts suggest Russia is becoming a hub for cocaine heading to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Yago Rosado | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The bust follows another in St. Petersburg last month and other major seizures in recent years. Police operations indicate that Ecuador is, so far, the main source country for cocaine arriving to Russia by container ship. InSight Crime analysisThe Oktyabrskaya Hotel across from the Moskovsky railway station in St. Petersburg in May 2020. St. Petersburg is the only major maritime port of entry for cocaine into the country, she added. Erdinc said that Russia played a "significant" role as a transit country for cocaine that arrives to Turkey and is then moved to other European markets.

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